Assessment is a key part of implementing any lesson plan. Especially important for English Language Learners, assessment gives the teacher an opportunity to evaluate what students are learning, identify what still needs to be taught, areas of improvement. Assessment can be important in both monitoring student progress and in informing instruction.
Assessment for language proficiency needs to be done in all 4 language domains: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. If it is not, the teacher is getting an incomplete picture of student abilities, and is unable to fully understand their language proficiency.
It is important to not substitute the word “test” for “assess.” While testing is one form of assessment, the most effective assessment is performed for purposes other than assigning grades. Effective assessment enhances the learning process; it does not restrict it to “teaching to the test.” Assessment is an opportunity for teachers to understand their students’ learning and apply their knowledge in a more specialized way.
On this page, I have included resources that can be used for assessment in the classroom for English Language Learners.
Resources
Authentic Assessment, defined by J. Michael O’Malley and Lorraine Valdez Pierce in Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers, 1996. Authentic Assessment is “multiple forms of assessment that are consistent with classroom goals, curricula, and instruction.” Here is a list, from the same book, of types of authentic assessment and their advantages:
http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm Authentic Assessment Toolbox, created by Jon Mueller, gives excellent definitions, examples of authentic tasks, rubrics, and great step by step instructions on implementing authentic instruction in your classroom.
Rubrics can be excellent assessment tools. They can be designed analytically or holistically, and can be applied to any language domain or assessment. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ is a great free resource to create rubrics and see rubrics created by other educators.
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/assessment/index.shtml A website dedicated to teaching diverse learners, this outlines assessment for ELL’s. Outlines initial assessment, ongoing assessment, and High stakes testing for ELL’s.
Self Assessment resource: A McGraw Hill resource, this learning log is an opportunity for self reflection. It shows students how to show what they learned, respond to it, and helps teachers assess how to further inform instruction.
These resources compiled from:
O'Malley, J.M. & Valdez Pierce, L. Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers, Longman,1996.
Gottlieb, M. Assessing English Language Learners. Corwin Press, 2006.
And web sources cited within the documents
Authentic Assessment
Assessment is a key part of implementing any lesson plan. Especially important for English Language Learners, assessment gives the teacher an opportunity to evaluate what students are learning, identify what still needs to be taught, areas of improvement. Assessment can be important in both monitoring student progress and in informing instruction.
Assessment for language proficiency needs to be done in all 4 language domains: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. If it is not, the teacher is getting an incomplete picture of student abilities, and is unable to fully understand their language proficiency.
It is important to not substitute the word “test” for “assess.” While testing is one form of assessment, the most effective assessment is performed for purposes other than assigning grades. Effective assessment enhances the learning process; it does not restrict it to “teaching to the test.” Assessment is an opportunity for teachers to understand their students’ learning and apply their knowledge in a more specialized way.
On this page, I have included resources that can be used for assessment in the classroom for English Language Learners.
Resources
Authentic Assessment, defined by J. Michael O’Malley and Lorraine Valdez Pierce in Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers, 1996. Authentic Assessment is “multiple forms of assessment that are consistent with classroom goals, curricula, and instruction.” Here is a list, from the same book, of types of authentic assessment and their advantages:http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm Authentic Assessment Toolbox, created by Jon Mueller, gives excellent definitions, examples of authentic tasks, rubrics, and great step by step instructions on implementing authentic instruction in your classroom.
http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2006/jan_feb/ELLOutlookITIArticle7.htm This article describes the value of using portfolios as assessment tools.
Rubrics can be excellent assessment tools. They can be designed analytically or holistically, and can be applied to any language domain or assessment. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ is a great free resource to create rubrics and see rubrics created by other educators.
http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/assessment/informal This article outlines how to effectively use informal assessment in the classroom. It includes samples and descriptions for teachers.
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/assessment/index.shtml A website dedicated to teaching diverse learners, this outlines assessment for ELL’s. Outlines initial assessment, ongoing assessment, and High stakes testing for ELL’s.
Self Assessment resource: A McGraw Hill resource, this learning log is an opportunity for self reflection. It shows students how to show what they learned, respond to it, and helps teachers assess how to further inform instruction.
Sample Classroom-based Assessments:
O'Malley, J.M. & Valdez Pierce, L. Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers, Longman,1996.
Gottlieb, M. Assessing English Language Learners. Corwin Press, 2006.
And web sources cited within the documents